One Direction back 5th Base on The X Factor

One Direction are backing new boy band 5th Base to win this year's 'X Factor' after Niall Horan became pals with them

One Direction are backing new boy band 5th Base to win this year's 'X Factor'.

The 'Little Things' hitmakers are throwing their support behind the hunky band - which is made up of Dean Gibbons, Jason Cafolla, Darren Regazzoli, Shane Thornton and Chris Lenard - after Irish-born star Niall Horan became best pals with the singers and even asked them to perform at his 19th birthday last year.

The new boy band recently auditioned for the ITV show in front of judges, Louis Walsh, 60, Sharon Osbourne, 60, Nicole Scherzinger, 34, and Gary Barlow, 42, where they sailed through to the second round of auditions after singing their version of Little Mix's 'Change Your Life'.

Speaking to the Daily Star newspaper, a source said: "The judges said they had a raw talent but needed to fine tune some things. They could have what it takes to make it big if they work hard.

"Who knows? They could be the next One Direction and be rivals to their pals in the charts."

Since shooting to fame on the talent show 'The X Factor' in 2010, One Direction - which is also made up of Zayn Malik, Liam Tomlinson, Harry Styles and Liam Payne - have amassed a fortune of around £5 million each and have conquered the world but insist they have remain level headed.